The truth that human activity is changing the Earth's climate is now known by all but a small minority of anti climate change people. While painfully slow and in many ca
ses very weak, there is now in-principle agreement among governments in most large developed countries that they must reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the most significant of which are emissions of carbon dioxide. What can and should a small country such as Singapore do??
After giving increasing attention to the issue from 2005, Singapore's government released the . Effective mitigation means cutting emissions, and the 'lowest common denominator' assessment is that global emissions need to be cut by fifty percent from 1990 levels by 2050, with absolute cuts from 2020 onwards, if the world is to have a fifty-fifty chance of avoiding 'catastrophic' climate change.
Can we stop climate change?NO WE CANT! The official position appears to be that because of Singapore's 'special circumstances' - its small size, its urban landscape and industrialized economy - it cannot cut its emissions. The claim deserves scrutiny, and its truth is not at all clear cut if we consider the four key underlying factors that affect whether Singapore's emissions rise or fall.
None of this should be taken as thinking that Singapore is in any way a major player responsible for the fate of the world's climate.
ses very weak, there is now in-principle agreement among governments in most large developed countries that they must reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the most significant of which are emissions of carbon dioxide. What can and should a small country such as Singapore do??After giving increasing attention to the issue from 2005, Singapore's government released the . Effective mitigation means cutting emissions, and the 'lowest common denominator' assessment is that global emissions need to be cut by fifty percent from 1990 levels by 2050, with absolute cuts from 2020 onwards, if the world is to have a fifty-fifty chance of avoiding 'catastrophic' climate change.
Can we stop climate change?NO WE CANT! The official position appears to be that because of Singapore's 'special circumstances' - its small size, its urban landscape and industrialized economy - it cannot cut its emissions. The claim deserves scrutiny, and its truth is not at all clear cut if we consider the four key underlying factors that affect whether Singapore's emissions rise or fall.
None of this should be taken as thinking that Singapore is in any way a major player responsible for the fate of the world's climate.
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